In response to the Wednesday letter, “How are guns making us safer?” I offer this: A July 27 www.abc4.com article by Don Hansen: A man bought a knife at a Salt Lake City grocery store, and began stabbing people. A citizen pulled his gun; told the man to drop his weapon or he would shoot him. The man complied and employees jumped the man and held him until police arrived.
Guns were banned by the theater in Colorado. Most universities ban guns on campus. Thus law-abiding citizens leave their guns home. We would be safer if businesses didn’t ban guns.
Australia banned many weapons, promising safety in return to its citizens. Weapons not banned had to be unloaded and locked up, inaccessible if needed in an emergency; 640,000 weapons were turned in and destroyed. Results: Armed robberies went up 69 percent; assaults, up 28 percent; gun murders, up 19 percent; home invasions, up 21 percent. The NRA is comprised of law- abiding citizens of the U.S.A.
Most citizens are law abiding. Those who have CPLs (Concealed Pistol License) carry their weapons unseen. They are around you and you don’t even know it. Washington state is an open carry state and it is legal to carry a weapon out in the open, without any permit. If you are ever attacked, or robbed you just might be thankful guns aren’t banned. As they say, “when guns are banned, only criminals will have guns.” If you don’t feel safer now, perhaps Australia is an option.
Tom Green
Lake Stevens
